Above Photo: Jalil Muntaqim and Carlos Ron, Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America and President of the Simon Bolivar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples. Courtesy of Jalil Muntaqim.
Jalil Muntaqim reports on a conference held in Venezuela regarding the case of diplomat Alex Saab.
Saab was kidnapped by the United States three years ago and is still being held in prison.
I was invited by Camilla Saab, the spouse of the kidnapped Venezuelan Diplomat, Alex Saab, to attend the international conference titled: “Lawfare Against Venezuela: Three Years After the Kidnapping of Diplomat Alex Saab.” This conference, sponsored by the Free Alex Saab Movement, brought activists and revolutionaries from as far as Canada, Slovenia, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Nigeria, England and the United States, to name a few.
On June 14th, 2023, a public forum was held at the Jose Felix Ribas Hall, Teatro Teresa Carreno, where invited speakers presented their support for the immediate release of Alex Saab, denouncing the U.S. government for its violation of international law regarding the treatment of diplomatic representatives of foreign nations. (See: 22 U.S. Code Chapter 6 – Foreign Diplomatic and Consular Officers) and the Diplomatic and Consular Immunity: Guidance for Law Enforcement and Judicial Authorities . These presentations were the highlight of the evening, a strong revolutionary position in support of the immediate release of Alex Saab, that defies the U.S. imperialist, irrational, irreconcilable and incorrigible violation of human rights, as they use the law as tactical warfare to justify the illegal U.S. embargo on the Venezuelan people and their sovereign government.
On June 15th, 2023, the Venezuelan peoples National Assembly convened to vote on a Declaration demanding the immediate release of Alex Saab in opposition to the illegal practice of LawFare. It was a rousing National Assembly whose revolutionary spirit is strengthened by the Chauvinista philosophy acknowledging the Indigenous, Afrikan and Spanish origins of the Venezuelan peoples and the Bolivarian Revolution. One of the presenters during the National Assembly was the indomitable Rene Gonzalez, the Cuban 5 hero who was a U.S. political prisoner for 13 years before being released and returning to Cuba. Senor Rene Gonzalez shared some of his experience in U.S. prisons and explained how it was the Power of the People that kept his spirit strong and motivated him to endure the racists and reactionary challenges of surviving the U.S. penal slave system.
At the conclusion of Senor Rene Gonzalez’s presentation the National Assembly proceeded to read the Declaration and voted unanimously in favor of demanding the immediate release of Alex Saab. This unanimously held decision, passing the Declaration by the National Assembly received a rousing and enthusiastic applause from the entire National Assembly and invitees from around the world. Viva Cuba, Viva Nicaragua, Viva Venezuela, Viva the Bolivarian Revolution was the outcry. Then, Camilla Saab, wife of Alex Saab, and her family were escorted to the podium to express their appreciation to the National Assembly and were granted an official copy of the Declaration by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, the President of Venezuela’s National Assembly.
Later that evening during a reception at Camilla Saab’s office, I was asked to give a few words concerning being in Venezuela for this event. I shared with Comrades from Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Chile, England, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Nigeria, Slovenia, the United States and other countries that our struggle is a common struggle against white supremacy and capitalist-imperialist exploitation. I shared with them that on October 25th, 2021, we organized and conducted an International Tribunal where the United States was found GUILTY of Genocides against Black, Brown and Indigenous People in the U.S. by an esteem body of International Jurists on the five charges: 1) State sponsored terror and police killings; 2) Mass Incarceration; 3) Environmental Racism; 4) Health Inequality, and 5) The Existence of Political Prisoners. That we are in the process of developing the Peoples’ Senate in an effort to remove ourselves from continued racist harm and organize a national determination to end prison slavery and other forms of racial and economic oppression Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples has suffered for over 400 years of navigating and surviving a system of white supremacy. I provided copies of the Rebuild newspaper, the booklet of the Genocide Verdict, the Peoples Senate Recruitment pamphlet to Comrades attending these events. I also presented a copy of my book (We Are Our Own Liberators) the Genocide Verdict booklet and the Peoples’ Senate Recruitment pamphlet, and a Black Panther watch to the President of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for North America.
On June 16th, 2023, myself and other international observers of these events were escorted to the International University of Communications and informed how efforts are being made to teach and instruct students to become diplomats and strengthen communications with progressives and nation-state actors around the world. During the discussion, I asked whether the intent was similar to Cuba’s Doctor of Medicine at the University of Medical Science in Havana, Cuba where they teach and train people to become doctors from around the world? I was told this was their eventual intent to become a hub for diplomatic training and further broaden the base for communications in socially responsible ways highlighting our common concerns for humanity and the planet.
Later the same day, I was interviewed by Karen Mendes, who did the documentary on Alex Saab (Check this: https://www.youtube.com/.watch?v=WCtcxqklpQI&t=401s also review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhO3k-sazdM ) in which during an interview I was asked “Why do you support Alex Saab?” I shared that the U.S. government has a history and legacy of destroying people(s) and governments that seek to serve their people’s needs. That is what they did when the Black Panther Party (BPP) organized the Free Breakfast Program for School Children and the Peoples Health Clinics. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) agents into the community stating the BPP was poisoning the children, the FBI created and distributed a book to school children claiming the BPP was teaching them how to kill police officers, the FBI sent provocateurs and police agents to infiltrate and disrupt our political Party and movement, and went so far as committing assassinations, i.e. the killing of BPP members like Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.
The FBI also forced many into exile like Assata Shakur and imprisoned hundreds of BPP members to destroy the Black Panther Party and the movement for national liberation of Black people from the system of white supremacy and capitalist-imperialist exploitation. I explained that the FBI and the federal government used every tactic to destabilize and to destroy the Black Panther Party as they do in its efforts to colonize and neo-colonize nations (like Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to name a few). Knowing the U.S. government lies, is a liar, and will never tell the truth when it is against its capitalist-imperialist interests, I support Alex Saab, believing the U.S. government has lied to kidnap and imprison this Venezuelan diplomat.
As I shared these thoughts during the interview, I was also considering how the U.S. lied when they invaded Iraq and murdered Saddam Hussein or when they kidnapped President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti. Therefore, Alex Saab’s efforts to defy the embargo and raise funds for housing, food and clothing for the Venezuelan people correspond with my and the BPP experience with the U.S. federal government’s efforts to destroy our efforts to house, feed and clothe Black people. My humanitarian support for Alex Saab is in support of a national Venezuelan hero who loves his people.
In closing, I would like to express my profound appreciation to the Venezuelan government and the Free Alex Saab Movement for the invitation to observe and participate in this historic event of international solidarity
Respectfully,
Jalil Muntaqim
Spirit of Mandela Coalition
National Jericho Movement
Originally published in NBLM National Unity Initiative.
Jalil Muntaqim is a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. He was incarcerated for 49 years as a political prisoner of the United States, and released in 2020. Muntaqim’s is the author of several books, the most recent of which is We Are Our Own Liberators: Selected Prison Writings.